Klepsacovic invented Whiny Post Day, and it's today! So I have to come up with a subject to whine about, something that will annoy at least some of my readers. Fortunately Klepsacovic provided a helpful guide, stating that "The primary indicator of a whine instead a legitimate complaint is that someone else disagrees that there is a problem." Oh, wait, no, that would mean that every blog post in the world is a whine, because there is always some else who disagrees that there is a problem. But to take this definition in a narrower sense, I'll talk about something that I know will annoy some readers, because I have in fact already received comments telling me to "shut the fuck up" about that subject: Posting about my personal state of mind.

I am not a robot. I am an average guy, with normal human feelings. Some days I'm happy, some days I'm sad. And sometimes I get angry about rather insignificant stuff, like things that happened to me in a video game or in the blogosphere. That is a completely normal behavior. If you turned round a corner in your office and caught two of your colleagues bad-mouthing you at the water cooler, you would probably be upset. Most people would. So if I turn round a corner in the internet and catch people bad-mouthing me on their blog, or on Twitter, I get upset too.

And then I tend to air me being annoyed on my blog, at which point invariably some asshole turns up and threatens to "unsubscribe" if I don't stop posting personal stuff on my blog.

That is the kind of people I'd really like to punch in the nose. In fact they usually annoy me far more than whatever made me upset in the first place. How dare anyone tell me what I am allowed to write or not write on my own personal blog? This is MY personal space, the place where I post MY thoughts on various things. As apparently some people are interested in some of my thoughts on gaming, I'm generously allowing anyone to read those thoughts if they want. For free. And then some pimply teenager living in his mother's basement and amounting to nothing much in live comes and tells me that this or that post isn't what he wanted to read on my blog. Bloody hell, how about rubbing those two braincells together to produce the brilliant spark of an idea to just skip the posts he doesn't want to read?

Look, I'm quite willing to set up a subscription-only site if people prefer that. They pay me $15 a month for my blog posts and THEN we can discuss terms of contract on what subjects they want or don't want to have covered. But as long as people are just leeching free content from me, they have no right whatsoever to feel entitled to dictate to me what I can write about. And what kind of a threat is that to "unsubscribe" from a free site? I'd rather have a lot less readers and complete freedom than having a lot of readers who all try to control what I'm doing here. This blog isn't a democracry, it is mostly a monologue, with some opportunity for dialogue in the comment section. If anyone feels the need to control the content of a blog, they should write their own, where they can do just that!

Sometimes, when people bitch about my posting (usually that there isn't enough of it), I go to their blogs and post comments bitching about how their frequent posting/commenting interrupts my creative process.

Subscription only site is a good idea, because if people were paying a monthly subscription for the site, and stopped enjoying it, they would simply cancel their subscription instead of feeling the need to complain about it!

I think even your personal blogs posts are worth reading. You aren't a machine for taking coffee and turning it into MMO thoughts, and I don't want to read the output of that machine. The human element is critical in writing. So do what you want, or I'll unsubscribe! :P

I ask myself why RSS-Readers don't come with bad-word-filters. All the time I could save if the sports-part of my favorite newspaper wouldn't show up in the first place instead of me having to delete it!And it would also work on whiny personal blogposts. Oh wait, I don't even mind those.. ;)

@Chris: Yes, I have. And apparently unlike you, I can count. I looked at the over 100 posts I wrote since the beginning of the year, and there are less than 10% which are about my blog.

So you jerk are telling me that on my personal blog I don't even have the right to talk about personal blog stuff 10% of the time, because you find that frightening? You are too stupid to stick to the 90%+ game-related posts?

It is entitlement kids like you who make the internet such a nasty place. You're just a guest here, and this isn't the way guests should behave. Didn't you learn anything about polite and civilized behavior at home?

"Entitlement kids" - that's exactly my problem with multiplayer games. There's just too many of them to ignore them. In reality, they're not necessarily kids, I know. But they behave that way. Selfish, careless, complacent, condescending, and never ever sympathizing. That's what happens without social control.

I was going to write one of those spoofs posts where I pretend to believe that I was in charge over what you wanted to write. Then I read some past comments (and current ones) and discovered that people actually do think that.

I used to just skip those comments here, not even giving them a glance. I think that the "problem" you have is that you write so well-thought-out posts and look and sound like they would from writers who write about games and analyze games for a living, that the "pimplyfased two braincelled" readers cannot tell the difference.

what I would recommend, is a rant-swear-filled post about a trip to the supermarked.

But of course that would just mean that I was telling you what to write :)Personally, I enjoy the meta-blogging posts so very much, that I would not even think to suggest to tell you what to write.

I think that sums it up for me. Maybe you should have that as your tag line at the top of the page. Might encourage the billions of other bloggers out there to write about something other then themselves.

I am actually laughing out loud here, but I can't show that in text too much.

I'm just glad I went underground for ten years. At least they just ignore me now.

So you jerk are telling me that on my personal blog I don't even have the right to talk about personal blog stuff 10% of the time, because you find that frightening? You are too stupid to stick to the 90%+ game-related posts?

I'm just going to take this tongue in cheek and consider that there must be some method to your madness. Next time I'll insert sarcasm tags when I make an obvious humorous link between making personal posts and having ones dick stepped on in the process.

Well, it's Whiny Post Day, I'm trying very hard to be as whiny, rude and unreasonable as possible here today.

And while comments like "QQ more", "grow a thicker skin", "don't be so sensitive", etc., are already not helping on other days, they are downright misplaced on Whiny Post Day. Where would Whiny Post Day be if I didn't QQ more? ;)

Tobold wrote :"And then some pimply teenager living in his mother's basement and amounting to nothing much in live..... "Your usual flare and insight is abit lacking here imho. If you know the person who flamed you ifl, then my appologies.

Personally I only read "Tobold" because it's a link on VirginWorlds and I click through them all before I start playing each day. It's also an easy blog to post on without jumping through a lot of permission hoops, so I often reply, even when I don't really have anything much to say.

I think the subscription blog is quite a good idea, actually. I wouldn't pay 15c a month to read it, but you seem to have enough rabid fans that you might do pretty well :)

Ok point taken. But just remember, while you are free (on a blog) to say whatever you like, professional, paid writers (because they are paid) are not free to write whatever they like. If they're having a bad day, they suck it up or they'll loose their job. They dont fill their professional articles with ultimately meaningless whines based upon whatever unimportant emotion they happen to feel at that moment, no matter how justified they may feel at that particular point in time.

Learning how to do this is a part of growing up.

You however, reserver the right to do this on your blog. I understand why you reserve youself that right - because you do like to get emotional and "vent". However, since you also, at times, write mature, well considered articles, you will continue to annoy all of us who read your blog because of those, and not because of your (often) childish emotional outbursts.

Just to be clear: generally, emotional outbursts from adults are annoying to everyone around (even if those around you dont say so). Adults like that get a reputation for being emotionally unstable. More mature people start to avoid them. When you do the same on your blog, you will solidy that same reputation for yourself, and you will annoy your readers. It cant be helped; it's a law of nature. Just so you're clear on why readers of your free material get annoyed.

professional, paid writers (because they are paid) are not free to write whatever they like. If they're having a bad day, they suck it up or they'll loose their job. They dont fill their professional articles with ultimately meaningless whines based upon whatever unimportant emotion they happen to feel at that moment, no matter how justified they may feel at that particular point in time.

That is exactly the heart of the issue. I do have a day-job too, where I can't afford emotional outbursts either. Thus I can either bottle up my emotions, which has been scientifically proven to be bad for your mental health. Or I can find a different outlet for my emotions, a place where I am not bound by the same sort of restrictions as I am in my paid job. And that is what I'm doing here.

While it pleases me to hear that some people think that some of my posts are as good as those a professional, paid writer would produce, what I am saying here is that a history of finding high quality, mature, well considered posts without emotional outbursts for free here does not entitle you to tell me that I can't write anything else.

And I don't care the least little bit whether that annoys you or anyone else. People tell *me* that I should be less sensitive, but how about *you*? Why can't *you* be less sensitive to the occurence of less than 10% of emotional, personal stuff among over 90% of posts about games?

Basically it is a package deal. I do not subject myself to the same rules of coolheadedness, nor objectivity by the way, of a professional publication. I just write what I think, and most of the time I happen to think in a mature and rational way, but not always. While this is below the standards of a professional game publication, the upside is that I'm offering all this for free.

What did you expect? Same or better quality and standards as a professional publication, but without the price tag attached? That is exactly the culture of entitlement I'm raging against.

@syncaine: I'm glad to hear you don't read my blog any more, because otherwise you'd have noticed that I didn't have a single post about WoW this week, and less than 50% of posts about WoW in the preceding weeks.

So how about your blog? Is it still 90% of posts about how great that shitty game Darkfail is, just because you're getting paid 20% by Aventurine of every subscriber you bring?

Feel free to call me a WoW fanboi, but at least I'm doing it for free, and am not so corrupt as to praise bad games for cash. Too bad Darkfail is stagnating, hasn't grown beyond 20k subscribers, and will probably lose half of them to equally bad Mortal Online when it comes out. But I'd bet you don't even mention Mortal Online on your blog out of fear that somebody might play that and rob you of your income.

I am completely opposed to you showing the slightest bit of emotion. If you are not a robot, you are a raging infant and that offends me. If you don't stop being human, I will unsub you. And I might even make a mean post about you!

So WoW is boring even a paid shill like you now? So much that posts about the AH, UI mods, and how to spec a class are no longer possible? Good to know.

And yea, DF is still entertaining me and providing ample blog content, which I know you know. I hope everyone tries MO though, it will make them appreciate DF just that much more.

Oh and I'm not the one who declared I won't be reading such and such blog, or mention such and such game. That kind of behavior is just childish, especially when you fail to live up to such silly statements only a few weeks later.

When is Blizcon EU again? And what level of reporting can we expect with your Bliz-provided pass? Or is your lack of constant WoW praise posts putting that benefit in jeopardy? Certainly can't be good for that stagnating visitors count.

@syncaine: Your feeble attempts to make it look as if getting a ticket to Blizzcon once three years ago is the same thing as getting a steady income from Aventurine is laughable. Obviously I have no material relationship whatsoever now with Blizzard, while you are getting paid every month, and more than the value of one press pass.

That leaves me free to play whatever I want, while you are condemned to praise the only shitty game willing to offer you such generous terms for your solicitation. If Blizzard would be offering you 20% of every sale you made, including subscription fees, you'd be praising World of Warcraft from high heavens, corrupt as you are.

Now you have me confused. Is DF struggling and shitty (surely based on your own extensive personal time with the game, rather than just your general boogieman fear of PvP and anything with a pace faster than turn-based), or am I making so much money from people BUYING THE GAME that I would actually change how I blog? I think you need to pick one story and run with it.

Oh and you should definitely base that opinion on a player-made website that has time and time again been proven to be grossly inaccurate. That usually works out really well for you. (and by well I mean the next day you get 80+ "Yay Tobold!" comments with the same depth as your WoW AH/UI posts when you put up another 'be nice to me' piece due to people call you out on another string of mistakes. I love that Tobold blog cycle)

Tobold said: What did you expect? Same or better quality and standards as a professional publication, but without the price tag attached? That is exactly the culture of entitlement I'm raging against.

nice try! The trouble with that argument is that you're doing your venting IN PUBLIC. This blog is public. I remind you that if you wanted a personal private bit of ranting space, a little pocket book locked in your bottom drawer is more than sufficient. Or you could see a shrink. There's a reason they're paid to listen to people rant you know: it's because its *unpleasant*.

People come here for a nice bit of intelligent MMO comment, and if they pick a day the wind happened to blow a different way, they get some temporarily regressed adult brawling like a baby ;) That's not an exaggeration, is it? I mean you have exploded in fury at times, in ways that - assuming you're over 30 - made me cringe for you, and for those who know you much better than I.

As far as you're concerned, people can stop reading. But that's like saying: I'm going to stand on this street corner every night, and give a lecture on classic literature. However, once a month, my emotional negativity is going to build up to such an extent, I'm going to rant and rave at my audience to help myself let off steam. If you dont like it, dont walk by my street corner. Hey, I'm not perfect you know, never said I was.

Well, you may think this blog is yours but it's not really if you think about it: it belongs to the internet, of which you are just a tiny part. This is a particular street corner where you have chosen to set up shop. It's not really yours - you just happen to be standing here.

You want it both ways: you want people to comment & give you lots of attention when you write decent pieces, and at the same time you want them to affirm your wonderful little self, warts and all, when you dont.

My point, again, is that when you rant in public, you make a mockery of your more lucid moments. People, like myself, respect you less, because people, like myself, dont behave that way in public, no matter how bad a day we've had.

It's partly about entitlement for sure, but you yourself are a very deep expression of the entitlement culture, as are most of us with the wealth and leisure to play video games. Your assumption that you are allowed to do what you like, because it's "your" blog is a deluded position. If it really is *your* blog, then have the guts to put your money where your mouth is: switch off commenting entirely.

Then, with my final comment for all time on tobolds mmo blog, I will agree, it is your blog and you can do what you like with it, and rant and rave as much or as little as you like. But that's only because you're not giving anyone the chance to tell you to stop, or to discuss how smart you are, and how well thought out your last piece was.

While you let us comment, if and when you behave like a baby, we will beg you to stop. For the sake of a little dignity.

Well, you may think this blog is yours but it's not really if you think about it: it belongs to the internet, of which you are just a tiny part.

Thank you for putting your completely aberrant opinion so clearly. It is interesting to hear how some people are so deep in that culture of entitlement that they don't even believe that my own words still belong to me if somebody else can hear them.

What use would a rant be if it WASN'T in public? And if you are so mature and grown-up, why can't you just ignore the rant and read something else? I have no problem admitting that I am just human and have bad days just like everybody else. Why does that fact cause *you* such terrible problems? Just suck it up and ignore it, just like you'd do when your coworker is ranting about how terrible the coffee today is.

Syncaine writes: "Is DF struggling and shitty, or am I making so much money from people BUYING THE GAME that I would actually change how I blog?

I don't see why it can't be both. 20k subscribers and zero growth is struggling and shitty, but if there is just 1 subscriber solicited by your blog every day, that would make more money in a month than I ever received in freebies from all the worlds game companies together. You're a cheap $5 whore, who would sell his integrity for as little as that.

Thank you for coming here on Whiny Post Day, where I feel free to state my opinion about you without the bounds of politeness.

Politeness is overrated on the internet, and only the emotionally weak would use it as a crutch.

But I think I understand now why you are so bitter when my name or DarkFall's comes up. You are still trying to find some enjoyment in 6 year old content displayed through the eyes of an aging game, while myself and many others have been happily playing a new, interesting MMO for well over a year now. One that takes all your "neg sum PvP is not sustainable" theorizing and tosses it in your face.

Good luck man, hopefully something comes along and saves you, giving you something new and interesting to play and write about. Until then, we can all gloss over some 2005-era WoW re-posts. I hear Onyxia is interesting content, know any good videos?

But I think I understand now why you are so bitter when my name or DarkFall's comes up. You are still trying to find some enjoyment in 6 year old content displayed through the eyes of an aging game, while myself and many others have been happily playing a new, interesting MMO for well over a year now.

Interesting definition of "many". :) Do you even pretend to have any data proving that Darkfail has more than 20k subscribers?

But no, my resentment towards you comes from the fact that you have attached yourself to me like a leech, constantly harrassing me. I can only assume that is because any "Syncaine vs. Tobold" drama publicized big on the blogosphere makes it look as if you were on a similar level of blog success, and drives innocent readers towards your blog, where you can sell them your Darkfail to your financial benefit. The lower your blog sinks, and the more people are leaving both your blog and Darkfail, the louder you have to shout at me to troll for attention.

By the way, I do fully agree with those of you who say that me showing myself upset or resentful harms my image as St. Tobold spouting absolute truth from the mountain top.

Fortunately that is fully intended, because I'm all out of absolute truths. I only have opinions on offer, and the kind of near-truths we think are facts because we read them on the internet or in some newspaper. In the best case scenario my opinions make you think, and you post a comment on my blog, giving me an interesting different opinion to read about a subject I'm currently interested in.

I don't know where the idea comes from that I'm doing this to get admiration. Admiration is counterproductive to good discussion. I'd settle for some basic respect.

See, Tobold, aren't you glad you turned off comment moderation? This wouldn't be possible otherwise. I can just see the joy on the faces of the children as they whisper to each other "there's a flame war going on!" Oh it's just like Christmas, but with no presents or holiday cheer or snow.

I can just see the joy on the faces of the children as they whisper to each other "there's a flame war going on!" Oh it's just like Christmas, but with no presents or holiday cheer or snow.

I'm just following the advice of sid67, who complained that previous flame wars between me and syncaine were too boringly one-sided, because I remained too polite. And he is right. I mean, what is syncaine going to do about it? Post something on his blog to complain I was rude to him? With his history just about everyone would just tell him that he had that coming. And if he isn't fast about it, he'll even miss Whiny Post Day to whine about me, and that'll make him look even more petty.

Naw, I don't go with pretend data from unreliable sources to base posts off, that's this blogs forte. What I do know however is that my DF server has more people playing than your WoW server, and that the game I'm playing gets updated more frequently and for less money than the game you're playing. Sadly I don't have an instant-queuing feature to get all excited about that speeds me towards 6 year old content, you win that one.

And I'd be careful when talking about blog traffic with me. You're not the site now writing mostly about a niche game yet still growing at the same rate as when talking about mass-market games. You are however the site with a stagnant visitors chart (but keep clinging to RSS feed numbers like a F2P promoter does to account numbers), and while you can feel safe for now thanks to your large head-start, if things continue like they have been you won't be making that claim for long. Plus with my millions from DarkFall, I'll just buy you out for that petty 100k you are asking for, and force you to play and blog about MO exclusively. Lets see you blog mostly about some niche title rather than drawing in the WoW crowd and keep up (let alone grow) your numbers then.

Strictly speaking, this venue really isn't your blog. The venue you use to express your ideas in public (blogspot) actually belongs to google. We're like little soapbox orators. We have been allowed a regular spot in the town square with which to shout our words. The words belong to us, but one day our venue could disappear, and with it, our audience.

But I DO have a complaint. It isn't REALLY whiney post day. Its actually St. Patrick's day. ERGO, you are at a bar getting drunk with your buddies. You brought your laptop with you, and you pass it around to each of your buddies in turn. Everyone gets a go at the commentors while you chuckle at each other and sip your pints. (Don't even TRY to deny this. You live where they make Heineken! I know the truth!)

And my whine is that I'm still at work, gosh darn it, and wish I was somewhere drinking beer too!

I'm glad that someone took the time to write out their reasoning when it comes to why this is not Tobold's blog and why he can't do as he likes. I completely disagree but it was enlightening to read Kiulia's posts. Both the "not your blog"-part and the "emotions are embarrassing"-part are so foreign to me I would have trouble imagining it without seeing it "in print".

Personally I get annoyed at people complaining and being disrespectful to others regularly, and the way the Internet sometimes seems to make people act more in this way is saddening. It makes me happy to see I am not the only one thinking this way, I like Tobold's posts on blogging for that reason.

Also, while I don't believe in always listening to trolls, people being nasty gets to you sometimes. If we go to the real life analogies, I would not be embarrassed if someone yelled back after each 100 insults or so. I might in fact cheer them on.

Love your blog, Tobold. Also worry about how personally you take people who flame you.

I have to disagree that people don't have a right to their snotty-nosed, brain-dead opinions. Even if that opinion is no more than "Tobold is a poopy-face."

You bravely post your well-written ideas in a public forum. You have lots of loyal readers who comment fervently. An occasional angry post by a selfish asshat who maybe just wants to vent shouldn't derail you that much.

Although of course I don't have to deal with it like you do. And I'm sure it sucks mightily. But choosing to be out here kind of requires that you thicken your skin a bit.

The only people that know the exact number of Darkfall subscribers is Aventurine, the rest of us are just throwing around guesses. From my personal experience, and not just something I have read on forums, the newb areas of Darkfall have a lot of activity and the chat channels are being constantly spammed with new player questions. Are there more new players joining than old players quitting? I have no idea and wont even try and guess. All I know is that there does seem to be a steady stream of new players coming to Darkfall.

I'm not sure if you aren't overestimating how personally I take those things. I *do* react, but mostly because I feel reacting in some way (firing back, deleting, or blogging about it) is the right way to do. And once I have reacted, it doesn't affect me any more.

I'm a great fan of venting. Venting my ideas on the blog. Venting any anger there as well. But that doesn't mean the anger is eating me up, just the opposite, it helps me deal with the stupidity and rudeness of trolls.

My skin is thick enough, thank you. Are you trying to say I should not respond, not delete, not talk about the various trolls or "selfish asshats" as you call them? I always have the feeling that means they win. Of course I'm aware of the problem of feeding the trolls, but hey, Whiny Post Day is over in a few hours.

I do want to say this though, Syncaine's relationship to Aventurine is no more material than Tobold's relationship with Blizzard. Larger, yes, but not material in the context of the salary an educated Westerner earns.

I've only perused the guy's blog a few times, but if you're insinuating that he is promoting Darkfall solely in order to make money, then you're being ridiculous. The guy gets paid a small amount for each referral who buys a copy of the game. He gets what? Maybe a hundred bucks a month at most? Even a hundred bucks is stretching it. You think he writes all those posts and dukes it out with Tobold for a wage of a dollar an hour? Unless Syncaine is a starving Ethopian with an unusually strong command of the English language, I think you're wrong if you define that as material. He'd make more money washing windshields when cars stop for a red light.

Heh while entertaining the little comments spat here is fiarly one sided. I think you need to find someone better to fued with Tobold.

Syncaine doesn't even try to back up anything he says with "logic", or even half-assed facts. He definitely isn't much of a troll or competition when it comes to having an argument. At least good trolls know to make their arguments plausible and somewhat based on reality.

You can boil down all his comments here to "nahuh WoW is teh ghey and darkfall will like have 15256251527 people in a few years! and then we'll see whos blog is the bestest!1!11!!". "Your dumb tobold! you totally leik work for blizzlame!" and they'll have the exact same amount of depth to him then what he actually wrote.

Me thinks you need to go get some tips on how to troll correctly from the WoW Forums. =)

Really great post. An another good occasion to thank you for taking the time to write and make it public. Your writing is fantastic to read, you always give me stuff to think about. I've been following you for well over a year now, and it feels like I just discovered your blog yesterday. Keep it up, be yourself!